In a continued effort to communicate with the student body, Penn State President Rodney Erickson and VP for Student Affairs Damon Sims will host a fireside chat today at the Hintz Alumni Center. The Student Leaders Roundtable invites all students to join Erickson and Sims from 4:30 P.M. to 5:30 P.M. This is the second of three scheduled informal conversations with Rodney Erickson.

This is just one of many opportunities which show the renewed sense of transparency for the Penn State administration. In addition to the discussions with Erickson, the new Board of Trustees chair, Karen Peetz, has been engaged in a listening tour. And many Board members have met with Staff Advisory Council, the Faculty Advisory Committee, the Academic Leadership Council, and President’s Council.

“The meetings are part of our continuing listening efforts, in particular for the new leadership,” Peetz said.

The Board also held a retreat at the Penn Stater last weekend where several trustees echoed to the group what they had heard during the ongoing listening tour. The future operating structure of the Board was also discussed, but no decisions were made.

“We are eager to listen, receptive to new ideas and welcome more openness and communication among the president, the board, the Faculty Senate and the faculty in general,” Peetz said.